Recent Reading

Music Database

Still killing time fiddling with the Pazz & Jop ballots and my
EOY Aggregate list. As I'm only selectively adding P&J voters'
ballots to the count, I've been perturbing the standings a bit, nudging
Cardi B (which I like more) into 4th over Pusha T and Low (which I don't
like, although it's far from their worst) down to 10th, under Noname and
Parquet Courts (which I do like). Reminds me of something I used to do
in my late teens, when I could create my own book lists by mixing real
bestseller with other books I was drawn to, including a lot of titles
from Pantheon, Grove Press, and Monthly Review Books. The EOY Aggregate
remains more rooted in reality, but factoring in my own grades and lists
from favored critics and fellow travelers does add a (useful, I think)
bias to the thing.

Jazz and
Non-Jazz EOY lists
have evened out a bit, 63-58, with one late-discovered A- in each
this week. Also found my first 2019 non-jazz A-, against 12 jazz
A/A- records (although Leyla McCalla's Capitalist Blues
could be called non-jazz, and two more of that dozen feature
spoken-word poetry).

I pulled a couple old unrated CDs off the shelf this week, now
in "old music" below. I should note that French blues collection
is part of a series. I also own The Prewar Vocal Jazz Story
(1923-45, released 1996), which is in my database as a full A.
I gave it a spin last week, and it would be hard to improve on.
Had I spent more time with The Prewar Blues Story, I might
have concluded it's every bit as authoritative. There are more
volumes in the series, all long out of print, but likely to be
worthwhile if you stumble upon one. Booklets are pretty good.

After Christgau's
Expert Witness, I spent some more time with Alex Chilton
reissues -- although I was actually primed with
last week's review of Big Star's Live at Lafayette's Music
Room. I had reviewed Ocean Club '77 back when
it came out,
but gave it another shot, and a better grade.

Last week I started replacing my rated albums lists with my
review notes. Working methodology is to collect the list in a
scratch file and retain it in the notebook, while only swapping
the reviews in for the
blog post.
Still a bit awkward for me, but I trust more timely reviews in
smaller than monthly chunks will be more useful.

New records rated this week:

Asleep at the Wheel: New Routes (2018, Bismeaux):
Ray Benson's fiddle band from West Virginia, moved west to Austin
back in the 1970s and discovered Western Swing -- my favorites of
their records have been Bob Wills tributes (Ride With Bob
in 1999, Still the King in 2015), although 2009's Willie
and the Wheel (filed under Nelson) was even better. Trying to
stand on their own here, with Katie Shore writing more songs than
Benton (2.5-1.5), but they're still better off with Guy Clark and
Johnny Cash ("Big River").
B+(*)

Moses Boyd Exodus: Displaced Diaspora (2018, Exodus):
Drummer, born in London, straddles jazz and electronica, best known
as half of Binker and Moses, first album on his own or in this group --
if that's what this is: I count 17 credits, including three vocalists,
four bata drummers (who also sing some), Binker Golding on tenor sax,
Nubya Garcia on bass clarinet, synth and guitar in the middle, and
tuba in lieu of bass. Opens and closes with African chants, strong
pieces.
B+(***)

BTS: Love Yourself: Tear (2018, Big Hit): South
Korean boy band, one of the world's biggest K-pop bands, easily
the best-selling one in the US. Big pop production, nothing very
exotic other than the language, but nothing I've latched onto
either.
B

Mariah Carey: Caution (2018, Epic): Big pop star,
or r&b diva, at least in the 1990s following her nine-platinum
debut, although the two records I sampled -- the debut and a 1998
compilation of her #1's -- never tempted me to dig deeper.
This is her 15th studio album, and while sales are a tiny fraction
of her peak, this reached 5 on the charts, and seems to have gotten
more critical respect than ever. Don't know why, but not so bad..
B

Hayes Carll: What It Is (2019, Dualtone): Country
singer-songwriter from Texas, sixth album since 2002, Trouble in
Mind (2008) his best, but this is pretty close, rocks a little
harder, worries about "Times Like These," honors "Jesus and Elvis."
A-

Cypress Hill: Elephants on Acid (2018, BMG): Pioneering
Latino American hip hop group, first album 1991, only their second
since 2004. Throws you a curve at first, then settles into something
solid, with an impact.
B+(**)

Erin Rae: Putting on Airs (2018, Single Lock): Folkie
singer-songwriter, dropped last name McKaskle, first solo album, two
previous albums as Erin Rae and the Meanwhiles.
B+(*)

Kinky Friedman: Circus of Life (2018, Echo Hill):
Self-billed "Texas Jewboy," used all the irony he could muster to
cut a good record in 1973, coasted a lot since then, but at 74 heard
Willie Nelson whispering in his ear to write more songs, so he did.
Bring up politics and you'll find he's turned into a crank, but he's
pretty mellow here.
B+(*)

Joshua Hedley: Mr. Jukebox (2018, Third Man): Country
singer-songwriter, from Florida, plays fiddle and guitar, first album,
trad sound, often leading with the violin. Songs remind me of a number
of better ones.
B

Larry Ochs/Nels Cline/Gerald Cleaver: What Is to Be Done
(2016 [2019], Clean Feed): Credit order from front cover, although label
reverses the order. Sax-guitar-drums trio, more tenor than soprano, all
joint improv, two 20-minute pieces, one 6:04. Starts with a strong sax
lead. Ends with equally strong guitar. In between is murkier.
B+(**)

Shad: A Short Story About War (2018, Secret City):
Canadian rapper Shadrach Kabango, born in Kenya, parents refugees
from Rwanda, sixth album since 2005. Probably pretty smart, but the
music got a little heavy for me.
B+(*) [bc]

Jeff Tweedy: Warm (2018, dBpm): Alt-country
singer-songwriter, led Uncle Tuppelo 1987-94, Wilco through 2016,
followed by a solo album of remakes and now this one of new songs.
I doubt he's done with the band, but wanted something a bit more
intimate and easy-going, and he's got that here.
B+(**)

Jack White: Boarding House Reach (2018, Third Man):
Former White Stripes auteur/impressario, fronted the Raconteurs, then
he Dead Weather. Started in bare bones rock and roll, created a label
specializing in Americana, revived Loretta Lynn's career. Third solo
album, sounds like he's trying his hand at hip-hop, except this isn't
hip and doesn't hop.
B-

Kelly Willis: Back Being Blue (2018, Premium):
Country singer-songwriter from Oklahoma, considered neotrad, first
album in 1990, last two duets with husband Bruce Robison, so this
is her first solo since 2007. Nice sound, but in one awkward moment
she refers to Cassius Clay, who chose the name everyone uses even
before she was born.
B+(*)

Luke Winslow-King: Blue Mesa (2018, Bloodshot):
Singer-songwriter from Michigan, based in New Orleans, dropped his
last name (Balzuweit), filed under blues which may be technically
right but he's more wistful than downtrodden. But he makes something
of that.
B+(*)

Recent reissues, compilations, and vault discoveries:

Big Star: Live on WLIR (1974 [2018], Omnivore):
Before the break up, a radio shot recorded in New York, reprising
9 of 12 songs from Radio City, 4 from #1 Record, 2
more. Two more cuts: "Motel Blues," and an awkward bit of interview
wedged into the middle of the disc where it's uninteresting the
first time and unwanted thereafter. This seems to be the same set
released by Rukodisc in 1992 as Live.
B+(**)

Alex Chilton: From Memphis to New Orleans (1985-89
[2019], Bar/None): Pop anti-star from Memphis, had a number one hit as
a teenager, led a legendary pop-rock band in the early 1970s, recorded
erratically as a solo act from 1978 until his death in 2000. Mostly
this draws from EPs just before and after his 1986 move from Memphis
to New Orleans, about half covers. I don't think this makes as good
a case for his genius as 19 Years, the Rhino compilation which
leans a bit earlier (including 5 Big Star tracks, plus 5 tracks that
reappear here).
A-

Fred Hersch Trio: Heartsongs (1989 [2018], Sunnyside):
Early piano trio -- Hersch's first records appeared in 1984 -- with
Michael Formanek on bass and Jeff Hirshfield on drums. Half originals
(including one from the bassist), two by Wayne Shorter, one each Gershwin,
Monk, and Ornette Coleman.
B+(**)

King of the Road: A Tribute to Roger Miller (2018, BMG,
2CD): An obscure but first-rate Nashville songwriter until 1964-65, when
a string of novelty hits -- "Dang Me," "Chug-a-Lug," "Do-Wacka-Do," most
importantly "King of the Road" -- made him a star, landed him a TV show,
and ruined the rest of his career, leaving him dead at 56 in 1992. Could
be some of these pieces are old ("Old Friends" is one), and they've cut
in bits of banter from Miller himself. I recognize, even love, nearly all
of the songs, but the performances are hodge-podge, all over the place.
B+(**)

Old music rated this week:

1930s Jazz: The Singers (1930-38 [1987], Columbia):
Early 17-track CD era compilation of "Columbia Jazz Masterpieces,"
from the label's legacy catalogs, a time when only Louis Armstrong
and Billie Holiday were treated with full CDs (7 for Armstrong and
9 Holliday -- others like Ethel Waters and Mildred Bailey had to
wait, while Bing Crosby and Fats Waller (and others omitted here)
did most of their work on other labels.
B+(**) [cd]

1930s Jazz: The Small Combos (1930-39 [1987],
Columbia): Remembered as the decade when big bands roamed the
earth and dominated the dancehalls, most of these groups are
still called Orchestra, and I don't think any are less than
sextets. Also avoids big name groups, although Jones-Smith Inc.
was early Basie, and Henry Allen, Sidney Bechet, Chu Berry,
Roy Eldridge, Stuff Smith, Wingy Manone, John Kirby, and others
are worth knowing more about. And they do swing.
B+(***)

1940s Jazz: The Singers (1940-49 [1987], Columbia):
Sixteen fairly classic tracks, starting with Maxine Sullivan easing
up to "St. Louis Blues" and ending with Sarah Vaughan torching
"Summertime," some cuts closer to r&b, and Slim Gaillard's
aptly described by his band name, the Flat Foot Floogie Boys.
With Billie Holiday before she left for Decca (where Armstrong
and Crosby were recording, so they drop out here).
B+(***) [cd]

Best of Blues Records Presents: The Prewar Blues Story [La Grande
Époque du Blues 1926-1943] (1926-43 [1994], Best of Blues, 2CD):
Bought this used at least 15 years ago, and it's long languished on my
unrated list. First disc is just less than half from the 1920s, while
the second picks up in 1935 and isn't totally "prewar" even given America's
delayed entry -- there's Doc Clayton's "Pearl Harbor Blues," Louis Jordan's
"Ration Blues," and Josh White observing Jim Crow wasn't any different in
the Army. Not essential as a primer -- I have a half-dozen comparable
surveys in my database -- but nothing to complain about, and a few
pleasant surprises. French title is on the jewel case, English on the
slipcover.
A- [cd]

Alex Chilton: Bach's Bottom (1975 [1993], Razor & Tie,
EP): Recorded in Memphis, appeared in 1981 in Germany, 10 songs, 29:42,
reissue grew to 15 cuts, but the Napster version (credited Razor & Tie,
but 1975) I'm working off is down to 8 songs plus 3 alternate takes, 34:02.
Any way you slice it, bits of genius thrown out with the garbage, often
hard to distinguish.
B+(*)

Alex Chilton: Like Flies on Sherbert (1979 [1996], Last
Call): Originally 11 cuts released on Peabody, Napster's 15-cut selection
corresponds to this French reissue, except they got the cover wrong. More
crap, less genius, or maybe it just doesn't seem to repay sorting?
B

Grade (or other) changes:

Alex Chilton: Ocean Club '77 (1977 [2015], Norton):
Working solo, covering favored pop songs as well as "The Letter" and
his non-hits from big Star.
[was: B+(**)] A-